Executive summary:
This joint submission, prepared by Cairo 52 Legal Research Institute and White Tent, highlights the significant human rights challenges faced by transgender individuals in Kuwait, with a focus on their right to health, protection from abusive practices, and legal gender recognition. Despite constitutional protections and international obligations, Kuwaiti authorities maintain policies and practices that severely restrict the rights of transgender individuals. These discriminatory measures prevent access to essential healthcare, enable abusive practices, and fail to provide legal gender recognition, resulting in social and state-sanctioned discrimination.
The report reviews Kuwait’s limited progress since its last UPR cycle in 2020, where recommendations to improve rights for transgender individuals were noted but largely unimplemented. Key issues include:
- Right to Health: Kuwait’s legal restrictions deny transgender individuals access to gender-affirming healthcare. Article 19 of Law No. 70 of 2020 prohibits gender-related surgeries, allowing only limited procedures for intersex individuals.
- Protection from Abusive Practices: Broad legal authority enables forced detention and conversion therapy, often under the pretense of mental health treatment, which violates international anti-torture standards.
- Legal Gender Recognition: Lack of a legislative framework forces transgender individuals to exist in legal ambiguity, exposing them to increased discrimination, arbitrary detention, and violence.
The submission provides targeted recommendations, including repealing restrictive laws, establishing anti-discrimination protections, improving healthcare access, and implementing data-driven policies. These steps are essential to align Kuwait’s policies with international human rights standards and to safeguard the dignity and rights of transgender individuals.
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